Cutbacks and innovation - doing more with less

The vast majority of governments need to reduce their spending. Ours is no exception and this is not going to change. It is a world-wide phenomenon. The challenge is how to do more and more with less and less.

The "more" is about providing/adding more value. The "less" about spending less time, effort, social capital, $....

Cost and value are connected but their relationship can change and can be changed.The present budgetary difficulties represent an opportunity for real innovation. But the key is to understand the links between costs, activity and value. Finding new and better ways to do what needs to be done (activity) can greatly improve the relationship between cost and value.

Build capacity and resilience

• Find the Holy Grail in your situation and ask "Whom does it serve?"  (see the Fisher King)
• ACT on sound theory, principles & heuristics - needed in periods of rapid change and uncertainty
• Work from the present reality - good, bad or indifferent
• ALWAYS start by making things easier - reduces costs; releases resources; enables people to more and better
• FIX the Broken Windows - tackle the common, important issues collaboratively
• LEARN from what happens - do prompt post-mortems and immediately update planning for next time (PDSA)
• be business-like - STOP doing things that don't produce value - 100% cost saving; no change to value
• DON'T ask permission - just DO IT: if it is the right thing to do, you don't need permission
• use focused technology (tools) in new and more productive ways. "Innovation comes from people who are responsible only to themselves."
• develop better working relationships: it is everyone's job to
• know what is happening
• work with others to make sense of, and  improve, what is happening
• make it easier for the next person to do their work well
• reduce waste and rework
• make policies and regulations helpful (make things easier)
• find or create synergies - break down barriers to collaboration
• move from "either-or" (win-lose) thinking to "both-and" (win-win) thinking
• improve processes continuously
• understand the difference between change and improvement
• work towards well understood shared purposes
• understand and manage your levels of response
• provide flexibility to increase responsiveness and initiative
• discover what's already working and support its wider deployment
• focus on solutions (not problems)
• avoid counter measures - get it right the first time - counter measures are waste
• invest in prevention (SWPBS, restorative practices, SEL...
• align and improve activity (purposes, processes, systems) before changing structures
• reduce multitasking - it slows things down!!
• understand and respond according to the phenomena involve
• fix the simple things
• get good advice about the complicated things
• try some safe-fail experiments for complex things
• impose order if there is (genuine) chaos

These kinds of development work best as decision making moves away from traditional command and control, production line and linear systems thinking towards more open and flexible arrangements. It works best as decision makers understand their task is to nurture emergence.

The starting point for such a shift in the thinking of policy/decision makers is to acknowledge that

• under stress, there is a natural urge for management in increase their use of command and control
• while they may be in charge, decision makers are not in control
• they are somewhat removed from the action that is the source of real value
• no-one has the whole story of what is happening
• the staff in the field frequently save an organisation from its own plans and policies (by creating and implementing the necessary workarounds)

The initial steps may be to

• revisit and re-affirm core purposes
• rethink working relationships
• join the dots - understand how and where value is produced, and how value flows, throughout the organisation
• reduce spending as required
• manage for it is ideal
• simplify as much as possible

The implications are that it takes the knowledge and efforts of everyone, working in collaboration, to make the organisation more cost effective. Unilateral decision making by management is unlikely to achieve the best possible outcomes - it is rarely more than tampering. Tampering increases costs and reduces value.

Our world has changed

Why do government and communities need to consider the next steps in relation to school closures?  Because

• Our recent experience is only the first of many resource-related challenges that face virtually all communities and governments world-wide. 

The biggest, most consistent question facing us is

• How can the system change so that we can all do more and more with less and less?

Ironically this is emerging at a time when we seem to have lost all touch with systems thinking and change management. It is more common for policy/decision makers to respond as if we are at the edge of chaos [*].

Admittedly, the nature of systems has changed, particularly since the arrival of the internet. Systems are now networks of often largely autonomous agents, Systems, including school systems, can no longer be treated as production lines (example) with an overlay of organisational trees that describe the  relative status, power and authority of those involved.

Clearly, at least 20 Tasmanian school communities are already better prepared for what is to come. These communities still have Facebook and a whole new set of knowledge, skills, experiences, networks and relationships and a clearer sense of their own identities. They have transformed their initial sense of being at the edge of chaos into something that could be very useful to all concerned is sustained and developed. Managed well, there is a close potential link between innovation and being at the edge of chaos, but it does require a change of mindset.

I cannot think of anything that the policy/decision makers (government and government departments) have to enable them to match what the school communities have done in 18 days!!  The old "golden rule" (Those who have the gold make the rules) is not as valid as it used to be.

But what might happen next?   So many lessons to be still to be learned!!

[*The sudden decision to finalise the closure 10% of Tasmania's schools within four weeks is a classic response made under is a chaotic situation. It didn't work because only the decision makers were in chaos at the time. The schools and their communities were far from chaos]

School closures - some next actions

Here are some possibilities to consider.

School communities
1. Carry out a post-mortem on the last few weeks as soon as convenient
(a) What worked? And why? Be prepared more of the same next time it is needed!!
(b) What didn't? Try to find alternative/better ways to do next time!! It might even work next time!!
(c) What have we discovered about "us"? Attend to the things than need to be attended to in our school and our community!!
(d) What have we discovered about others? What worked for them? What did they learn? ... What are the implications for the future?
(e) What else might we do now? In the near future? Next time?

2. Gather the data: During the past few weeks you have greatly increased your knowledge of what your school really is, in the life and work of your community.
(a) Capture 30 to 50 most significant stories that were told. And continue to add to them. These stories might be about students, families, the community itself, education, the local economy, the way in which the school and its community support and nurture people...
(b) Begin gathering the demographics - be more informed so that you can respond quickly to those who want to do things TO you!! And work with those who want to do things WITH you
(c) Map the school district showing where families live (big map). It is not the distance between schools that matter. It is the distance for home to the possible next school.
(d) Involve the students in learning (and teaching others) about their community, its life and work...
(e) Educate everyone about the school and its community...

3.  Consider small next steps for the school, and other aspects of the community, for example,
(a)  Update the history of school and the community
(b)  Put the school and community on show to passers by
(c)  Develop a shared voice with related schools and communities
(d)  Enhance the presence of the school and its community: use signage, the web, the media, events....

4. Participate in wider networks
(a) Sustain and extend the networks that have served you so well in recent weeks
 
The Policy/Decision Makers
I am concerned that the decision makers (and their advisers) may be the last to learn and respond constructively. Our world has changed. They may be in charge but this does not mean they are in control. Our children teach us this lesson everyday. The failure to close schools is more than a failure of process. It is a failure to understand what is happening and how the world works. Until they really learn the lessons they are unlikely to look around for the tools, processes and strategies to make sense of what is happening and work WITH those involved to make much better responses that will enable us all to navigate future challenges.

School closures - what happens next

Recent attempts by the Minister, government and department to close 20 schools have revealed much. The following are just some possible lessons:

Closing a school is not something that can be done one the basis of numbers. It is a complex and uncertain task with broad ramifications

Parents and communities place a very high value on the current well-being and long-term success of their children.

When it comes to success and well-being, parents and communities are confident about their local schools. Their confidence in the Minister, government and department has been severely undermined.

And so on…

School closures failed this time for two reasons: they were based on a very narrow discourse; and they were set up as win-lose and would have resulted in a net loss. The losses to the students, their families and community would have been far greater than the modest financial gains to the government.

The next step is for the lessons to be learned. This means taking advantage of the current situation to learn as much as possible and develop a new sustainable dialogue around all schools: what they are for and how to manage their futures.

The important conversation we need to have is not just between some schools and the government. The fundamental "fight" is about how we as a state understand, talk about, utilise and value our schools and their futures: what they are; what they do; how they make things possible.... And this involves all schools, communities, governments, departments...
The conversation really counts. And it needs to be ongoing, not just when there is an urgent need for the government to reduce spending. The conversation should include the full range of direct and indirect costs, benefits, values, relationships and possibilities associated with schools.

And these are best captured as stories of real people in real contexts as schools have demonstrated. This is what schools have all been gathering and sharing in recent weeks. And it worked so well.

Schools should look after their stories well. There will come a time when they will be needed again... not only for the sake of the school, but also to help the decision makers make better decisions next time. Hopefully the proposed Reference Group will be wise enough to tap into this goldmine before it dissipates. Governments world-wide are having to reducing spending and this will continue.

I hope The Minister gets full credit for correcting the mistake. Clearly he acted on poor advice from others who should have known better - they are the ones who need the stories most.

To be successful the conversation needs to be open, rich and interactive... not constraints by a narrow set of terms of reference with a particular outcome in mind. It needs to lead to innovation and overall win-win outcomes which may or may not result in some actual closures!!

The schools have demonstrated that this can be done. Facebook played a key role. There are tools for enabling even more focused and productive outcomes. Now it is time for the Minister, government and department to catch up.

Perhaps the critical next step is to make the Reference Group about School Futures (not just school closures).

Solutions and "problems"

The Solution Focus strategy attempts to maximise attention on solutions while minimising attention on problems. I support this orientation but it can be a challenge under certain circumstances. 

I have puzzled over the issue of solutions being so strongly linked to problems, especially in most everyday thinking. Many people come for assistance or justice with this mind set. And the situation itself often demands direct attention to a very real existing problem.

My personal response has been to address such 'problematic' situations at three main levels.  As much as possible I have worked with those involved to...

• Contain the problematic situation so that people and property are safe and the situation does not get any worse 
• Repair any harm done 
• Learn and Improve* things in order to reduce the likelihood of the problem recurring and to create a better future for all concerned.

The first two levels of response are clearly 'problem focused'. Perhaps only the third response is genuinely 'solution focused'.

However, containment and repairs can be prerequisites for achieving any desired improvements (sustainable solutions).


[* Notice that the last level is about 'improvement' rather than 'prevention'. Why? Because many initiatives aimed at prevention turn out to be counter-measures (containment, extra work,....) rather than actual solutions.]

Restorative practices is one example of a 'solution focused' strategy that often includes all of the above levels of response.

Over time it is possible for an organisation to become solution focused. When things go wrong (and they will go wrong!!) containment and repairs can be achieved fairly quickly because everyone knows that there is a firm commitment to learning from the situation and achieving solutions (long term improvements) that will reduce the likelihood of the problem recurring. I once had a staff member (Teacher) say to me in a puzzled voice: "We don't seem to have many of the problems we used to have !?!". I think this approach works.

Structures, Process & Windows of Opportunity

The purpose of structure is to support and enhance process including

• bringing the parties together
• in a timely fashion
• distributing authority and matching responsibility
• utilising contributions from all concerned, and
• achieving some of the purposes of all parties

That is, the purpose of structure is to create ‘windows of opportunity‘ that will

• enable the process to proceed successfully
• while meet the various needs of the parties involved

In this sense, for many people, education cannot be treated as piece-work – as simple mechanistic production:

• Input -> Process -> Output

In contrast, BigPicture and similar approaches incorporate the ongoing construction (and reconstruction) of generous, flexible,managed and negotiated “windows of opportunity”.

Understanding "solutions"

Learning takes a lifetime

I came to Solution Focus late via various milestones along the way, including 

• Quality Management - particularly continuous improvement (more here). This works well for those phenomena in which cause and effect are consistent over time and place
• Complexity... encountered while completing a PhD and 
• Solution Focus - more here. This works well where the relationship between cause and effect are not consistent over time and place...that is, when the outcomes are emergent

It is all very well to be focused on solutions but "solutions" are not always well understood.

Misunderstanding solutions 

For many years, as a teacher and Principal, I was good at resolving unhappy everyday situations, particularly those involving poor student behaviour. I was able to come up with "solutions" that enabled those involved to get back to teaching and learning... our core business.

But then I (finally) realised that I was coming up with "solutions" involving the same students in the same same situations every day or so. While I was 'resolving' the situations I was NOT producing a genuine long term solution that made my involvement unnecessary.  I needed to understand that what I was doing was actually 're-work' (waste) before the light came on for me.

What are solutions?


Firstly, "real solutions" do more than simply resolve current problems.  They also reduce the likelihoods that the problem will recur in the future; and if the problem does recur then it will be easier to resolve it next time.

In addition, genuine solutions are changes that make it easier for people to

• Know know what is happening
• Work together to improve what is happening
• Do their work really well 

They also reduce the need for counter-measures and rework

About counter-measures

While counter-measures may be necessary in the short term they represent low order "solutions" since they consume additional resources and have to repeated. For example, supervision, control, checking, repairing errors, redoing tasks... are all forms of waste. These activities are not really doing the core work. 

In contrast, real solutions are productive and sustainable, in that solutions

• make it easier to do better, and thus
• release resources for important activities, and also
• reduce waste and the need for rework by making sustainable improvements.